Murphy appoints part-time assistant DA

Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy announced the appointment of Paul Pelagalli, Esq. to the position of part-time assistant district attorney on Thursday, Jan. 13.

Pelagalli was sworn in by the office of the County Clerk Kathleen A. Marchione with Murphy present and his oath of office was filed in accordance with County Law, according to information from Murphy's office. Murphy assigned Pelagalli to prosecute vehicle and traffic matters, misdemeanor cases and felonies as well as present cases to the Saratoga County Grand Jury.

Paul Pelagalli has been admitted to practice law in the state of New York since 1984 and has represented defendants in numerous state and federal courts. He has also handled numerous cases for the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office as a special prosecutor and is a former public defender and assistant county attorney for the County of Saratoga.

Pelagalli graduated from Albany Law School in 1983 and obtained a master's degree in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Albany and was employed by the New York State Commission of Corrections for several years before attending law school.

He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Saratoga County Bar Association, and the Capital District Trial Lawyers Association.

Paul is an outstanding lawyer whose is ethical, smart and has an excellent sense of fundamental fairness. He will represent me and my office extraordinarily well. He is a litigator in a courtroom, has represented the government as well as those who have been accused in his previous jobs. As an ADA, you must see a case from all sides; make a judgment; do it fairly, efficiently and with the interests of justice in mind at all times. We do not simply convict just because we can. We must make sure that every person who stands before the court is given a fair and impartial analysis, said Murphy in a statement.

He is married and has two children and lives in the town of Clifton Park.